Scripture is clear there is another voice, that is not the voice of God, that desperately seeks to dominate and control the human heart. We have studied this in some detail, but there is another aspect of this truth revealed in Ephesians that we must look at to fully understand the devil’s influence over the ear of mankind. Paul calls Satan “the prince of the power of the air,” and indeed the devil has shown himself to be the great broadcaster to the world in the media age:
And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins, in which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of the world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God]. (Ephesians 2:1–2, AMP)
The New English Bible calls the devil in this verse “the commander of the spiritual powers of the air,” while the Concordat Literal New Testament calls him “chief of the jurisdiction of the air.” Jurisdiction is a legal term that defines the limits or territory where authority may be exercised. The devil exercises his authority and power in the air as well as upon the earth. As a ruler, commander, and chief of this world, he moves with extreme influence and power in the atmosphere.
Air is the common name for the atmospheric gases that surround the earth and are vital to the sustaining of human life. Oxygen enters the blood through the air we breathe and is carried to every part of the body. Without air it is impossible to have physical life.
Air is also the realm through which most communication travels, as air makes both audible and electronic communication possible. Sound is possible because of the vibration that travels through the air as a sound wave. Radio electromagnetic waves are broadcast through the air and received by your radio. Satellites relay television and radio signals around the world, and these communications travel via the air. Cellular phones and wireless networks also send their signals through the air, allowing us to communicate through computers, the Internet, and countless applications of our mobile phones.
We have seen through Emoto’s work that spoken words are vibrations that travel through the air and have the ability to bring life or destroy as evidenced by their effect on crystal formation in water. We have just touched the surface in understanding this type of communication, but we know that the devil utilizes words to his advantage.
The Rebellious Broadcaster Who Never Goes Off the Air
As Prince of the Power of the Air, the devil broadcasts his rebellious attitudes to the world, and air is the medium of his corrupting communication. The devil rules the airwaves, and he compels the human heart to tune into his wavelength. His ungodly words and pictures can now be communicated instantly through the air, and the devil is always broadcasting. Within seconds, the Prince of the Power of the Air can bombard the human heart with his twisted, evil thoughts, ways, and purposes.
Satan’s programming never takes a break. His broadcast has no commercials (or rather, most commercials encourage sinful thoughts and are an important part of the devil’s program schedule). It is uninterrupted broadcasting of rebellion and chaos against God and his truth twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The devil’s agenda is brilliantly wicked and subtly adapts its messages to appeal to the hearts of every man, woman, and child. These messages may subtly or grossly promote rebellion, distrust, indifference, and disgust against God and the truth of His Word, while drowning hearts in lust, jealously, anger, pride, envy, greed, selfishness, ingratitude, disobedience, and impurity.
Just as everywhere you go in this world, there is air that we breathe in, so the influence of the Prince of the Power of the Air is felt in every city, nation, and continent. Paul says that before we were Christians, we walked according to the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1–2, NKJV). The Greek word translated “walked” means “to order your behavior or conduct your life.” It can be illustrated as a sphere in which a person regulates, conducts, and lives his or her life. The Greek words translated “according to” are indicative of domination and control.
It’s incredible to think that most people live their entire lives regulating their behavior according to and in the sphere set up by the Prince of the Power of the Air. He dominates and controls the unrepentant heart, shaping it to his wicked blueprint by controlling the sphere in which it lives, breathes, and functions.
The Course of This World
In this same passage from Ephesians, Paul also says that the unrepentant walk according to “the course of this world.” Have you ever seen an oval racecourse? Once the race begins, the cars all follow the same course, around and around the racetrack. The course does not take them anywhere, but the drivers just go around in circles as fast as they can in an attempt to win the race. Likewise, the devil has set up a course where people lost in sin wander aimlessly in circles, trapped, moving in a hopeless journey in one direction.
“Course” in this passage is translated from the Greek word aion, which gives us the English word “eon.” But this word is not simply a span or period of time. Rather, aion emphasizes the characteristics, culture, and heartbeat of an age. It refers to the signs, the energy, the essence of the times. “Atmosphere” is a great word to describe it. It’s an entire living, breathing atmosphere that is absorbed into the heart through the eyes, ears, and thoughts. It can overwhelm you, mesmerize you, hypnotize you, and draw you in like a magnet. It can become the essence of your hopes, your dreams, and your aspirations. But in fact the course of this world is a black hole, a swirling abyss that can suck you into its vortex of ungodly ideas, opinions, and fashions.
The course of this world can so easily become a person’s god. It can seize the throne of a heart with great subtlety, but also with great fanfare. Its iron tentacles wrap around the heart and squeeze the very life out of every fiber of a person’s being. It is as big and pervasive as the atmosphere, which surrounds us and is present every place upon the earth. I have seen many Christians swept away by this mighty surging river of the course of the world, destroying their witness for Christ and their God-given calling.
Do not be fooled. This is extremely powerful and influential and must be resisted by the Spirit of God and His Word in our hearts. We must guard against the “course of this world” by remaining vigilant and alert as to what our eyes are beholding, what our ears are hearing, and what our minds are thinking. Whose wavelength are we tuned into? Whose broadcast are we watching and listening to? On which course are we running the race of life?
John Ritenbaugh, in his Forerunner commentary “Communication and Leaving Babylon,” writes that this is what Germans termed zeitgeist, the spirit of the age.[i] The Apostle Paul’s usage of the word “course” comprises the whole mass of elements that encompass the conduct and attitudes of the times, the aion, the zeitgeist. Of course, the zeitgeist would not be the same all over the world, because its expression among different peoples would differ depending upon many factors. However, according to Paul, its elements will invariably be carnal and evil because the spiritual source, Satan, is himself evil.
The Prince of the Power of the Air sets up an atmosphere in every age and culture where people breathe it in and it becomes their life, the essence of their conduct and manner of thinking and speaking. The aion is molded after Satan’s twisted heart and is a reflection of his intense hatred for the things of God. The aion is built on deception and fascination and has a powerful, magnetic influence designed to draw in and capture us. We absorb the Prince of the Power of the Air’s influence through the communication of the beliefs, values, and practices of the culture we are born into. Many of these characteristics and values are instilled within us, meeting little or no resistance because is a course that is burned deep into the culture.
The World System of Evil
The Greek word translated “world” is kosmos and in this verse means “the satanic system of world order with its seductive system of values, priorities, and beliefs that excludes and actively opposes God.” This world system is set up to draw one’s affections away from the one true God and His goodness. It’s interesting that the word kosmos can also refer to an ornament, decoration, or dress.
At its root is a word meaning “to polish, cut, or carve into a perfect arrangement.” The devil’s world system of evil is highly ornate and looks so pleasing to the human eye. This is part of the subtle attraction that deceives people and pulls them into its snare. But if you peel away the layers, this system is dark, empty, and totally devoid of God.
Marvin Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament says kosmos is “the sum-total of human life in the ordered world, considered apart from, alienated from, and hostile to God, and of earthly things which seduce from God.[ii]” Kenneth Wuest, in his Word Studies of the Greek New Testament, defines it as follows:
The word kosmos is used to refer to the world system, wicked and alienated from God, yet cultured, educated, powerful, outwardly moral at times, the system of which Satan is the head, the fallen angels and the demons are his servants, and all mankind other than the saved, are his subjects. This includes those people, pursuits, pleasures, purposes, and places where God is not wanted.[iii]
In fact, the world system that frames the spirit of the age can appear cultured, sophisticated, and civilized at one end of the spectrum, while at the same time being lustful, animalistic, and lawless on the other end. But it is driven by one central aim, which is to continually squeeze the heart into its unholy mold of godlessness and selfishness so that people will live and act accordingly.
This world system has infiltrated and dominated the hearts of the great majority of all peoples upon the earth. Unfortunately, this holds true for many Christians. Because God’s people do not put up much of a fight, this kosmos molds the moral character and attitude of the nations and extends its sway into all segments of society, including politics, education, religion, entertainment, and the economy.
Yet not one iota of this world system dwelled in the heart of Jesus Christ. In John 14:30, He called the devil “the prince of this world,” for Jesus knew beyond any shadow of doubt that the devil was the ruler of this kosmos and that God had no part in it. Jesus clearly taught that He is not of the world, that His kingdom is not of the world, and that the fallen world hates Him and everything He stands for (John 15:18). The world always stands in direct opposition to Christ and has relentless hostility for the one God ordained as its Savior and Redeemer. The world absolutely detests the Word of God and its message of truth and sets itself up in opposition to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
This world system has never known God in any intimate manner, and it is committed to driving hearts away from knowing and experiencing Him. This world system is His sworn enemy, and Christ is considered a forbidden outlaw whose presence is not wanted.
Jesus had absolutely nothing to do with this world system of evil. He did not conform to it. He did not declare a peace treaty with it. He did not soften His teaching so the world would like Him more. He stood against the kosmos in word, action, and character and refused to be contaminated by its pollution. Jesus Christ lived among us as the exact opposite of everything the world worships and adores. The intense bitterness and enmity of Lucifer, the fallen archangel, fuels this world system and its objective to oppose Christ at every level of its operation.
William McDonald in Believer’s Bible Commentary says:
The [kosmos] is the system which man has built up for himself in an effort to satisfy the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. In this system there is no room for God or His Son. It may be the world of art, culture, education, science, or even religion. But it is a sphere in which the name of Christ is unwelcome or even forbidden, except, of course, as an empty formality. It is, in short, the world of mankind outside the sphere of the true church. To be a friend of this system is to be an enemy of God. It was this world that crucified the Lord of life and glory….How unthinkable it is that believers should ever want to walk arm in arm with the world that murdered their Savior! [iv]
We dishonor the Lord when we allow our hearts to become so receptive and open to the communication and atmosphere of the world that they begin to reflect an image of the world. We must make sure our hearts are centered in the sphere of Christ and not the sphere of the world if we are to be spiritually vibrant and of value to the advancement of His kingdom. Oswald Chambers said “Satan’s great aim is to deflect us from the center. He will allow us to be devoted to the death to any cause, any enterprise, to anything but the Lord Jesus.”
In Love Not the World, Watchman Nee writes:
There is a spiritual force behind this world scene which, by means of “the things in the world,” is seeking to enmesh men in its system. It is not merely against sin therefore that the saints of God need to be on their guard, but against the ruler of this world….When we are faced with alternatives and a choice of ways confronts us, the question is not: Is this good or evil? Is this helpful or hurtful? No, the question we must ask ourselves is: Is it of this world or of God? For since there is only this one conflict in the universe, then whenever two conflicting courses lie open to us, the choice at issue is never a lesser one than: God…or Satan?[v]
Do Not Be Fashioned to the Image of the World
As Christians, we must never allow our hearts to become fashioned in the image of this world. God commands us in Romans 12:2 to resist the mold of the kosmos:
Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs]. (AMP)
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world. (NLT)
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. (MSG)
The Greek word rendered in most translations as “conformed” means “to form according to a pattern or mold, to fashion alike, to outwardly conform to something that is not a true representation of what is on the inside, to strike or imitate a pose and an inward assimilation of a mode of conduct.” It means to mold one’s behavior in accordance with a particular pattern or set of standards. The pattern or set of standards referred to here is the one set up by the Prince of the Power of the Air.
Have you ever poured something into a mold, like Jell-O or clay or the “plastigoop” used to make those Creepy Crawlers toys popular in the 1960s and ’70s? Once it’s poured into the mold, the liquid substance adapts exactly to the shape of the mold, solidifies, and emerges as an exact replica of the mold. It carries the design, details, and shape of the mold. We can never allow our hearts to be poured into the mold of this age, where it will set and harden.
The heart ultimately has two alternatives as to the image it will reflect and the mold it will represent. A heart can reflect the image of the world, or it can reflect the image of Christ. Those who are born again have the awesome beauty of Christ inside us, and we must let His splendor shine from our hearts to the world. But if we are not careful to protect and guard our hearts, the beauty of Christ can be veiled and our hearts corrupted and conformed to the image of the world. As the seventeenth-century English clergyman William Gurnall said, “It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons.”
The world exerts tremendous pressure, usually through an appealing façade, to just give in and go along with it. But we must be nonconformist when it comes to the world and its way of thinking, for the world has no respect, awe, or adoration of God. Our heart is to be unspotted by the things of this world. For as we drift toward the ways of the world, our love for God begins to wax cold. Our affection for God begins to wane, and the flame of the Holy Spirit in our heart flickers dangerously low to the point of being extinguished. If we love the world, we cannot love God:
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (1 John 2:15-17, NLT)
The heart was designed to love God above all else, and even after the Fall, this blueprint of love is a fundamental characteristic of the heart. The heart yearns to love. But through the influence of sin and the spirit of the age, this desire becomes skewed and directed toward another. Yet we must never give away our hearts to the world. The world must never become more precious to us than God. The world wants our love; the world demands our love; the world wants to be our exclusive lover.
The Greek word translated as “love” in 1 John 2:15 is agapao and means a love that is awakened by a sense of value in an object that causes one to prize and treasure it. This love springs from an appreciation of the value and worth of an object, its preciousness. It is to love with wonder and admiration, to cherish with reverence. It is a love that compels one to sacrifice oneself for the benefit of the one being loved. Are the things of this world so precious to you that you would sacrifice your relationship with God? Do you wonder and admire all the world’s trappings while forgetting the magnificent splendor of our Lord?
Yes, the devil has designed the kosmos with a great enticement to fall in love with it. It seems so harmless at first as we allow the world to draw our admiring gaze and tickle our ears with sweet nothings. But this infatuation will begin to grow and consume our hearts. The transference of our affections from God to this world may be slow and subtle, but it is a methodical, spreading disease that eventually deadens and hardens the heart. It’s a basic truth that what the heart chases after, what the heart loves, the heart becomes. The warning that echoes down every generation from the heart of God is to not fall into this treacherous trap. We must fight daily to protect ourselves from the molding influence of the world.
A Heart in the Hands of the World
You must never give to the world the agapao love that should only be reserved for God first and foremost. Your heart is either cherishing God or cherishing the world. Which is more precious to you? Where does the treasure of your heart lie? You cannot straddle the fence between God and the world for long. There is no neutral zone in the war for your heart. You cannot pursue the world, lending it your eyes and ears, and remain loyal to God. James 4:4 (PHILLIPS) declares this truth in no uncertain terms:
You are like unfaithful wives, flirting with the glamour of this world, and never realizing that to be the world’s lover means becoming the enemy of God!
Do not give yourself to another like an unfaithful lover. You were created to love and to serve only one master. It is impossible to love the world and love God at the same time. They are mutually exclusive. There is no way to have the best of both worlds. The master of your heart is either God Almighty or this world system orchestrated and manipulated by the Prince of the Power of the Air. Ultimately, you will love one and hate the other. You will choose to serve one and turn your back on the other.
Make no mistake: The world wants you. It wants your attention, your time, your money, and your affection. In return the world promises you satisfaction, fulfillment, riches, and control. But it is all lies. The truth is that world is dying. The world’s days are numbered, and its days of glitter are quickly coming to end. The glory of the world will soon turn to dust.
Nothing in this world lasts for long. Everything is changing, decaying. Indeed, it is an act of spiritual suicide to place your heart in the hands of the world. You must never forget that once you peel all the layers away, the world hates Christ and His devoted followers with an intensity that grows relentlessly with every moment. This hatred is the driving force of the spirit of the age. In his Forerunner commentary “The Christian Fight,” John Ritenbaugh writes:
The spiritual reality is that, as we might say today, “The world stands ready to eat us alive.” It chews Christians up and spits them out. If permitted, it can trash spiritual realities that may once have been cherished hopes and dreams. [vi]
Sometimes the world’s enmity for Christ and His followers is bold, direct, and even violent, as evidenced by the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Far East. Most times, however, the world’s approach is much more subtle. Ritenbaugh says:
Satan’s pitch to mankind is aimed directly at exciting human nature’s self-indulgent cravings. Due to this satanic effort, even though we are converted, we are apt to become misinformed, lackadaisical, disinterested, and discouraged. We must be aware of it and absolutely resist it. …“Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33, NKJV). Friendship with the world corrupts. [vii]
We cannot become lazy or indifferent when it comes to our affections. We must be spiritually aware at all times, for the heart is bombarded with Satan’s pitch and propaganda the moment we turn on a radio or television, log on to the Internet, or walk out the front door. We must become keenly aware of his messages—and resist them—if we are to keep them from taking root. We must always strive, as Scripture says, to keep our hearts from “being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). The world is toxic—a true environmental hazard—and its polluting contaminants can cause the glory and beauty of God to fade from our hearts.
You might find it enlightening to grab a notebook pad and write down just what you spend your day listening to and watching. Note how much time you spend on each activity. Compare this time with how much time you are spending with God each day, praying, reading and meditating on His Word, listening to spiritual songs that glorify God, reading Christian books, listening to godly sermons and teaching, and participating in worship activities with your church. Who is winning the war of time with your heart?
If your daily diet consists of cable television, secular radio, fashion or sports magazines, worldly movies and novels, and self-help books expounding the spirit of the age, your heart is getting “punked” by the world. The noise of this world is shaping your heart to reflect its own image, attitudes, and beliefs. The heart is an image bearer and will always reflect what it is seeing and hearing. We cannot allow our hearts to be consumed by the culture of this age instead of being consumed with God.
In his book Desire: The Journey We Must Take to Find the Life God Offers, John Eldredge provides some sound advice when it comes to the allure of this world:
We are at war, and the bloody battle is over our hearts. I am astounded how few Christians see this, how little they protect their hearts. We act as if we live in a sleepy little town during peacetime. We don’t. We live in the spiritual equivalent of Bosnia or Beirut. Act like it. Watch over your heart. Don’t let just anything in, don’t let it go just anywhere. “What is this going to do to my heart?” is a question I ask in every situation. [viii]
We must ask this question concerning everything our ears hear and our eyes see. What is this going to do to my heart? As Christians, our hearts are to be living proof that God is far more precious than anything the world has to offer. We must magnify God above the trinkets of the world.
Never Fear: Our God is Greater
The evil of this world is but a grain of dust compared to the power and might of our awesome God. God is infinitely greater in authority, power, influence, and grandeur. Always remember that He is the Creator of the universe and is so magnificent that even the heavens cannot contain Him. God is unlimited and unmatched in His greatness and majesty. The world looks like a cheap toy in His glorious presence. God is a trillion times more powerful and glorious than the entire world system that the devil has set up in the kosmos and the aion of these present times.
God is love (1 John 4:8) and everything He does is motivated by love. The kosmos is evil, and everything this world system does is motivated by evil. God so loved us that He sent His Son into the midst of the kosmos to offer redemption, deliverance, and eternal life to all the peoples of the earth (1 John 4:10). God has given us an overwhelming, crushing victory in Jesus Christ over the devil and all the influence, power, and destruction of this world.
Never fear the world for the limitless, almighty God lives within us and He is our Rock, our Protector, our Refuge, our Warrior, our all in all (1 John 4:16–18). All the anxiety, fears, worries, oppression, and darkness of the world melt in His presence. We must never forget just how awesome our God is. Nothing in the heavens or the earth compares in greatness to Him. Therefore we must rise up with the heart of a lion and the courage of a thousand armies and brilliantly display the beauty and splendor of a son or daughter of God in the midst of this crooked and twisted world:
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4, NKJV)
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] (John 16:33, AMP)
For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4–5, NIV)
And the secret is simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you bringing with him the hope of all glorious things to come. (Colossians 1:27, PHILLIPS)
No matter how powerful, influential and dominating this kosmos seems, as born-again sons and daughters of God the power and glory of Christ that rests in us is infinitely greater in strength and ability. We have been filled with all the fullness of God. What a power source! What an incredible amount of authority and ability! Do you realize how much power is living within you as a Christian? This is not the power to destroy, hate, condemn, judge, or ridicule. This is the power to live like Jesus did upon the earth, the power to touch and change the hearts of people with the love and compassion of God.
Jesus Christ overcame this world system of evil by His victory on the cross, permanently crushing the power of the enemy, that crafty serpent and deceitful slanderer. Our Lord has set us free indeed (John 8:36), obliterating every yoke of bondage that held us in its grasp (Galatians 5:1). We have been given a new destiny. Sin, death, and the Prince of the Power of the Air no longer have any hold over us, any claim on us, but we must claim this victory in Christ by faith in His finished work and the promises of His Word.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the kingdom of Satan and all the spiritual forces of evil. We must put on the whole armor of God if we are to effectively stand against the powers of this dark world and walk in the sphere of Christ’s magnificent work on the cross (Ephesians 6:11–12). We must never give ground to one ounce of fear when it comes to this kosmos, yet we must be wise as to its enormous influence in our culture and its ability to capture and turn the human heart. We must remember who we are in Christ and, having no fear, do battle against the Goliaths of this world. We breathe in the transforming presence of God, confident of His protection and power, knowing we are more than conquerors through Christ in any circumstance of life (Romans 8:37).
The allure of the kosmos pales in comparison to what pleasures of Jesus Christ. The gaudy winds of the Prince of the Power of the Air are deflated by Jesus Christ, who exposes Satan’s schemes of the kosmos and aion. He has dismantled the devil’s power to hold the heart in bondage for all those who would believe on His name. Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, shaming them publicly by his victory over them on the cross (Colossians 2:15). There is no excuse for allowing the world to mold our hearts into its image any longer. The choice is quite clear.
God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness, and now we must rise above the world and let our lives shine with the glory of God. What will it matter in the end if we gain the whole kosmos and lose our heart and soul? All the wealth, all the glory, all the fame in the kosmos are not worth a fraction of the value of your heart. Is it worth sacrificing your heart to enjoy the pleasures of the kosmos for a season? Is anything worth giving your heart away to the Great Pretender and letting your eyes and ears serve him?
The World Never Satisfies Like God Satisfies
The world will never love you like God loves you. He will never leave or forsake you, and He will always lead you in the path of true righteousness. Isn’t He worthy of owning ALL your heart and not just part of it? Why give away even the smallest part of your heart to the world? The world will never satisfy like God satisfies. It will only betray you in the long run like an unfaithful lover and lead you down a path of destruction.
Has your hearing become so dull, our eyes so blind, that you are giving leftovers of your heart to God? Francis Chan, in Crazy Love, says:
God wants our best, deserves our best, and demands our best….[Yet] God gets a scrap or two only because we feel guilty for giving Him nothing. A mumbled three-minute prayer at the end of the day, when we are already half asleep. Two crumbled-up dollar bills thrown as an afterthought into the church’s fund for the poor….We say to the Creator of all this magnitude and majesty, “Well, I’m not sure You are worth it. You see, I really like my car or my little sin habit or my money, and I am really not sure I want to give them up.”…How can we think for even a second that anything on this puny little earth compares to the Creator and Sustainer and Savior of it all?[ix]
This is the great deception of the kosmos, that God is not worthy of our best love, our first love, our greatest love. We give God only leftover scraps from the table of our hearts and forget His majesty and grandeur and how much how much our hearts need Him. Jesus declares to the church at Ephesus, “I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). Everything about the spirit and heartbeat of this age, this kosmos, is designed to deceive us into forsaking our first love. We are told daily that God is not necessary, that He is distant (if He exists at all), and that He does not love us or care about us. The devil wants to divert our attentions, to make us think there are better things to love and treasure.
So many in the church have been tricked into believing this great lie! The beautiful and mighty purpose that God has ordained for our lives turns to dust and is blown away by the breath of the kosmos. The magnificent works and glorious blessings that God had destined for us before the world began have been carelessly tossed aside and fade into the night as we wallow in the garbage of the kosmos.
I am not advocating that we run for the hills and isolate ourselves in some remote cave far removed from civilization. God wants us to shine our light in the world with all the magnificent glory of the Christ. He has commissioned us to reach out to the lost, to break the power of Satan and the kosmos in people’s lives by the mighty demonstration of the love of God. Jesus prayed on the night before His crucifixion:
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:15–18, NIV)
Jesus has sent us into the world with His words of truth to deliver the message of the gospel to every corner of the earth. But we can never be effective ambassadors of Christ if we allow ourselves to be in love with the world.
[i] John Ritenbaugh, Forerunner: “Communication and Leaving Babylon,” December 2005.
[ii] Marvin Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament, Volume II (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1900), 45.
[iii] Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Volume 1, Ephesians and Colossians (Grand Rapids: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Company 1961), 61.
[iv] William McDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., 1980), 79432, Kindle Edition.
[v] Watchman Nee, Love Not the World, A Prophetic Call to Holy Living (Fort Washington: CLC Publications 1968), 19.
[vi] John Ritenbaugh: Forerunner: “The Christian Fight” May 2007.
[vii] John Ritenbaugh: Forerunner: “The Christian Fight” May 2007.
[viii] John Eldredge, Desire: The Journey We Must Take to Find the Life God Offers (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000), 209, 210.
[ix] Francis Chan, Crazy Love, Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2008), 90, 91, 96, 97.
Excerpt from “The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life.” https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Key-Everything-Christian-Life/dp/1483447928/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499477494&sr=1-1&keywords=heart+key+to+everything
